Spox denies Bevin same-sex remarks

A spokeswoman for Matt Bevin, the primary opponent of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, denied Thursday that the Kentucky candidate said same-sex marriage could eventually lead to marriages between parents and children.

In an interview with Christian radio host Janet Mefferd on Wednesday, Bevin asked “where do you draw the line?” on spousal benefits, adding that “a person may want to define themselves as being married to one of their children so that they can then in fact pass on certain things to that child, financially and otherwise.”

“He was discussing the implications of the legal rights related to this issue such as hospital visitations and benefits. To imply otherwise is ridiculous,” Semmel said.

The episode, first reported on Thursday afternoon by liberal website Right Wing Watch, immediately drew a comparison to the “legitimate rape” remarks made by former Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) that are widely blamed for his failed challenge to Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) in 2012. On Twitter, former McConnell chief of staff and current top National Republican Senatorial Committee strategist Josh Holmes called it “The return of Akin-ry courtesy of old Bailout Bevin.”

During the interview, Mefferd brought up recent court battles in Utah over the legality of a same-sex marriage ban in the state. The host suggested that federal intervention on the issue is prompting people to “say this lawlessness is driving us crazy.”

That comment elicited a long, rambling response from Bevin that included the suggestion that same-sex marriage could lead to a slippery slope redefining marriage, including opening up the possibility of parent-child marriages for financial purposes.

“Where do you draw the line, even on that? At what point, if it’s alright to have same sex marriages, why not define a marriage — because at the end of the day a lot of this ends up being taxes and who can visit who in the hospital and there’s other repercussions and things that come with this — So a person may want to define themselves as being married to one of their children so that they can can then in fact pass on certain things to that child financially and otherwise,” Bevin said.

He added: “Where do you draw the line? And if in fact, a person can arbitrarily draw it here, why not could someone else draw it arbitrarily somewhere else? There needs to be rule of law. Marriage has for millennia been defined as that between a man and a woman, universally.”

Mefferd replied “absolutely” as the Bevin’s appearance concluded.

Bevin said that while he believes marriage should be the “sovereignty of the states,” he said if elected to the Senate he will “absolutely” weigh in as a strong supporter of defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Bevin’s remarks only add to an already difficult month for the insurgent candidate, whose run has been fueled by conservative outside groups upset with McConnell’s record of deal-cutting. Bevin is also receiving flak from a wide spectrum of political media after POLITICO disclosed that Bevin signed onto a letter supporting the financial bailout that he has been so critical of.